Kenya joins global efforts to end cervical cancer by 2030
Kenya has joined the rest of the world in efforts aimed at eliminating cervical cancer by 2030.
Cancer cases in women have dominated the landscape in Africa ranking in 24 of the 54 African Countries and is the fourth most common cancer among women globally.
With cervical cancer being the leading cause of cancer deaths among African women, the government has rolled out activities including prioritizing screening equipment and infrastructure to enhance ongoing efforts to eliminate the disease.
The World Health Assembly resolution on cervical cancer prevention and control dubbed ‘Accelerating the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem’ has been endorsed by Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO).
During the launch of the Global Strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, WHO has outlined three key steps which include; vaccination, screening and treatment to combat the disease.
“Successful implementation of all three could reduce more than 40% of new cases of the disease and 5 million related deaths by 2050,” said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Ghebreyesus says, “Eliminating any cancer would have once seemed an impossible dream, but we now have the cost-effective, evidence-based tools to make that dream a reality.”
Cervical cancer is a preventable disease and curable if detected early and adequately treated.
According to WHO, the annual number of new cases of cervical cancer is expected to increase from 570 000 to 700 000 between 2018 and 2030, while the annual number of deaths is projected to rise from 311 000 to 400 000.
The post Kenya joins global efforts to end cervical cancer by 2030 appeared first on KBC | Kenya’s Watching.